A default virtual switch to allow virtual machines to share the host’s internet connection using NAT.

To launch Quick Create, open Hyper-V Manager and click on the “Quick Create…” button (1).

From there you can either create a virtual machine from one of the pre-built images available from Microsoft (2) or use a local installation source. Once you’ve selected an image or chosen installation media, you’re done! The virtual machine comes with a default name and a pre-made network connection using NAT (3) which can be modified in the “more options” menu.

Details about the Default Switch

The switch named “Default Switch” or “Layered_ICS”, allows virtual machines to share the host’s network connection. Without getting too deep into networking (saving that for a different post), this switch has a few unique attributes compared to other Hyper-V switches:

Virtual machines connected to it will have access to the host’s network whether you’re connected to WIFI, a dock, or Ethernet.

It’s available as soon as you enable Hyper-V – you won’t lose internet setting it up.

You can’t delete it.

It has the same name and device ID (GUID c08cb7b8-9b3c-408e-8e30-5e16a3aeb444) on all Windows 10 hosts so virtual machines on recent builds can assume the same switch is present on all Windows 10 Hyper-V host.

I’m really excited by the work we are doing in this area. These improvements make Hyper-V a better tool for people running virtual machines on a laptop. They don’t, however, replace existing Hyper-V tools. If you need to define specific virtual machine settings, New-VM or the new virtual machine wizard are the right tools. For people with custom networks or complicated virtual network needs, continue using Virtual Switch Manager.

Also keep in mind that all of this is a work in progress. There are rough edges for the default switch right now and there aren’t many images in the gallery. Please give us feedback! Your feedback helps us. Let us know what images you would like to see and share issues by commenting on this blog or submitting feedback through Feedback Hub.

Amazon S3 is the industry-standard answer for storing business data, especially for enterprise operations. But because Amazon designed S3 as an IT-oriented “bucket,” it doesn’t come with a user-friendly storage sync and backup application, instead providing only IT-centric tools and APIs. It’s cost-effective, efficient, and secure, but plan to bring your own desktop software.

Today, Adobe announced that Flash will no longer be supported after 2020. Microsoft will phase out support for Flash in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer ahead of this date.

Flash led the way on the web for rich content, gaming, animations, and media of all kinds, and inspired many of the current web standards powering HTML5. Adobe has partnered with Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Apple, and many others, to ensure that the open web could meet and exceed the experiences that Flash has traditionally provided. HTML5 standards, implemented across all modern browsers, provide these capabilities with improved performance, battery life, and increased security. We look forward to continuing to work with Adobe and our industry partners on enriching the open web without the need for plug-ins.

We will phase out Flash from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, culminating in the removal of Flash from Windows entirely by the end of 2020. This process began already for Microsoft Edge with Click-to-Run for Flash in the Windows 10 Creators Update. The process will continue in the following phases:

Through the end of 2017 and into 2018, Microsoft Edge will continue to ask users for permission to run Flash on most sites the first time the site is visited, and will remember the user’s preference on subsequent visits. Internet Explorer will continue to allow Flash with no special permissions required during this time.

In mid to late 2018, we will update Microsoft Edge to require permission for Flash to be run each session. Internet Explorer will continue to allow Flash for all sites in 2018.

In mid to late 2019, we will disable Flash by default in both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. Users will be able to re-enable Flash in both browsers. When re-enabled, Microsoft Edge will continue to require approval for Flash on a site-by-site basis.

By the end of 2020, we will remove the ability to run Adobe Flash in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer across all supported versions of Microsoft Windows. Users will no longer have any ability to enable or run Flash.

This timeline is consistent across browsers, including Google, Mozilla, and Apple. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Adobe, other browser vendors, and the publishing community, as we evolve the future of the web for everyone.